


Pink Hair Don't Care

by Tabbyluna



Series: Magcase Real World AU [5]
Category: Skylanders (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Beer, Family Issues, Female Friendship, Gen, Hair Dyeing, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Sibling Bonding, Swearing, Talking, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27575549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabbyluna/pseuds/Tabbyluna
Summary: Boom Bloom wanted to do something to make Krankcase upset. And one day, when Krankenstein took her to visit some friends, she finally had an idea on what she could do, with a little help from Eye Scream.
Relationships: Boom Bloom & Krankenstein (Skylanders), Boom Bloom and Eye Scream (Skylanders)
Series: Magcase Real World AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921933
Kudos: 2





	Pink Hair Don't Care

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this in one day. It's not beta-read or edited. I was just super excited to write this because woo! I'm finally writing stories where things actually happen again!

In one corner of the room, Krankenstein busied himself lifting weights. He had some music playing out of his phone, at half-volume so that he could be considerate to others. In another corner, Boom Bloom was staring down at her phone. She had earphones on, and watched anime through the tiny screen. It was a regular Friday evening at the Krankcase household, and the oldest and youngest siblings of the family weren’t minding each other.

An alarm eventually rang from Krankenstein’s phone, cutting short the hip hop tracks he had been playing. Boom Bloom finished up the last episode of a series. It had a fairly satisfying conclusion, and she was glad that Aurora recommended it to her. 

They both picked up their phones, and originally planned to leave the living area in silence. But then they saw each other. And for the first time since the two of them entered the room to enjoy their hobbies that evening, it registered that they had been sharing the room with the other. 

“Evening, Boom Bloom,” said Krankenstein. 

Boom Bloom nodded. “Evening, Krankenstein.”

There was a moment of silence. Usually, when she was alone with a family member, and the room was utterly quiet beyond that, Boom Bloom would have dove into social media. Scrolling down her phone to avoid awkwardness and deep conversations. But for some reason, that evening, she shoved her phone into the pockets of her cargo pants, and talked. “So, whatcha gonna do?”

Krankenstein smiled at her, and walked out of the living room to the front door of the house. “Krankenstein planning on going out and buying snacks. Some potato chips and beer.” Lately, Krankenstein had been busy attending woodworking courses at the trade school. He has said that he’d been planning on someday being an apprentice at the old carpenter’s shop in town. He talked to the old carpenter man there, Chain Reaction, frequently. Because of all the time spent in town, he got to know the people working there. And for some reason, he ended up hanging out in his town’s grocery store a lot. 

Boom Bloom had to admit, she was kind of curious as to what Krankenstein did at the grocery store. She had never really bothered to ask him about what he’d been up to in the past. But now… here was an opportunity to find out. 

“Hey,” she began, “can… can I come with you?”

Krankenstein pulled his coat over his muscular body. “To grocery store?” Boom Bloom nodded. “Okay. Wear coat and bring phone. In case Mags and Dad want to know where you are.”

Boom Bloom smiled, and rushed back into her room to grab her coat. Once she did, she slipped on her sneakers, and the two of them were on their way.

While she was still annoyed that her brothers were calling Krankcase ‘Dad’, secretly Boom Bloom was kind of glad that he still wasn’t referring to Mags as ‘Mom’. She knew that Shield Shredder was calling her Mom now, because she was slated to marry Krankcase in the winter. Scrap Shooter and Fisticuffs started calling her Mom just to annoy her, but were now just calling her Mom out of habit. She was glad that at least one of her siblings was on her side of still calling her Mags. On her own, she supposed Mags could be alright. But why… Why did she have to decide to go and marry Krankcase of all people?

She tried to like her father. When they went out for a Father’s Day dinner, things were beginning to look up a little, even. But then Mags and Krankcase announced that they were gonna get married so shortly after the Father’s Day dinner. And because of it, the Father’s Day dinner felt just so  _ orchestrated _ . Like they were trying to butter her up so that she’d be more accepting of their engagement.

It’s been a whole summer since that engagement announcement. She’d already started high school. And for the whole summer, she’d been locked in her room trying her hardest to avoid the both of them. In that time, they bonded with all her brothers. Spent all that time together, getting to know one another. After doing some thinking, she realised how much the announcement of their engagement so soon after the Father’s Day dinner messed everything up. And it was so weird, because it seemed like she was the only one really affected by the timing of the announcement. All her brothers coped fine with it, and now it sometimes felt like  _ they _ were all a whole family, and she was just a random person living with them.

She got into the car with her brother, and together they drove to the grocery store. It was Mags’ car, since Krankenstein had the keys for it. And the radio was still set to the country station. “Can I change the radio?” Asked Boom Bloom.

“Sure, what station you want?” Boom Bloom silently switched over to the alternative station. Over the summer, she slept over at Aurora’s a lot. And during those sleepovers at her house, the two of them frequently tuned into the alternative station to listen to music together. Over time, she developed a taste for those types of songs. With their moody, personal lyrics and their interesting sounds, she felt like they really spoke to her.

The world was a different place at night. Darker, with significantly less people around. The streetlamps coated the world in orange light, and the few people walking around looked much different than those who were out during the day. There were mostly tired people returning home from work in the suburbs. But as they got closer into the city, people began looking, well, more ‘shady’. 

Boom Bloom has seen many different types of people in her life. Being shafted around from relative to relative growing up, she’d lived in a number of different neighbourhoods. People never really scared her, simply because she’d seen so many people in her life, nothing could really faze her.

*****

Finally, they made it to the grocery store. They quickly found parking, and they both walked in. Boom Bloom noted that the sign up front said that the store opened at six in the morning and closed at midnight. Inside, the workers all looked exhausted. As if all of them were just mentally counting down until they could clock out, and were just going through the motions of their job until then.

Krankenstein picked up a six-pack of beer, and a packet of salt-and-vinegar chips. Boom Bloom asked if she could get a packet of gummy worms, and Krankenstein said that she could. 

When they went to the checkout, Krankenstein was insistent on going to a specific one. Boom Bloom at first assumed it was because that checkout counter had the shortest queue. But then, when it was their turn, Krankenstein immediately started chatting to the cashier.

She was a short woman, with an eyepatch and head full of blue hair. Said blue hair was long, straight and stringy, and tied back into a tight ponytail. “Hey, Eye Scream,” he said.

She nodded. “Krankenstein,” and reached out for the six-pack to scan it.  _ Beep. _

“How things going?”

“Things are going fine. Grandma’s finally going for her bunion surgery next week.” The salt-and-vinegar chips.  _ Beep. _

“That’s good. Eye Five coming to pick you up later?”

“Yeah. He’ll be coming over soon actually. Shift’s gonna end real soon, actually.” It was almost eight in the evening. She picked up the gummy worms next.  _ Beep. _

Her eye wandered over to Boom Bloom. “Who’s the kid?” She asked.

“Oh, this my little sister Boom Bloom. Boom Bloom, this my friend, Eye Scream.” Boom Bloom waved at her, and Eye Five shot a small smile in return. 

“Hey kid. Krankenstein’s told me about you.” 

“Really?” Boom Bloom raised an eyebrow at her older brother. “What did he say?”   


“Hey, Eye Scream,” said Krankenstein. “Is it okay if we head to you and Eye Five’s place? Just to chill and watch TV?”

Eye Scream shrugged, as she bagged up their items. “It’s Friday so… hell, why not. You owe me ten bucks.”

Krankenstein paid up for their food, and the two of them made their way back to Mags’ car, where they would wait until Eye Five showed up to pick Eye Scream up, and then head over to their place together.

Unlike Krankcase, Mags didn’t have any strict rules about whether or not someone can eat in the car. It was one of the things that made Mags better than Krankcase, in Boom Bloom’s eyes. (Seriously, why is she marrying him?) So the two of them opened up their packets of food, and ate in silence. 

“Hey,” said Boom Bloom, chewing on a gummy worm. “If you’re gonna be drinking at their place, then how are we gonna get home?”

Krankenstein bit into a potato chip with a loud crunch. Tiny crumbs of potato fell down his face, onto his shirt. “Me crash over at their house all the time. Just tell Mags and Dad where you are. They should be fine, since it’s not school night.”

As if on cue, her phone lit up with a message from Krankcase. She read his text message. “Where are you!?”

Boom Bloom stared at it, wondering if she should answer it or not. And after considering her options. She texted back “i’m with krankenstein :)”, then turned her phone off.

*****

Eye Five and Eye Scream lived in an apartment flat. The buildings were brutalist, and according to Krankenstein, they lived there because the rent was cheap. “Eye Scream said she like the way the building looks though. So that a bonus for her.”

She finally met Eye Five when she stepped out of the car, when they were walking from the parking lot to the building. He was a short man, with striking blue eyes, blue hair, and big hands. “Hey, so this is your little sister, Krankenstein?” He asked. Krankenstein nodded. “She doesn’t look like you at all.”   


Boom Bloom was told that she looked a lot like Krankcase. And that her brothers all looked like their biological mother. She had to admit, no matter who she would have looked like, she probably would have hated it since she held neither of her biological parents in high regard. The thought of her parents lingered in her mind, even as she walked into Eye Five and Eye Scream’s apartment.

It was a small flat. With white walls, and tiled floors. In the living area, there was a sofa, a television set, a blue and yellow striped rug, and a gaming console. Just outside the kitchen, there was a small table with an opened box of cereal on it, and a couple of plastic chairs around it. Inside the kitchen, the refrigerator appeared to be a mini-fridge. 

“Hey anyways, Krankenstein. If you’re staying over, that means that you get the couch. But where does the kid go?” Asked Eye Scream.

“I’ll go get out my sleeping bag, I guess,” said Eye Five. “But that can wait. For now, let’s crack open a lukewarm one!” He laughed at his own joke, and scurried over to the front of the TV. Krankenstein followed suit. And the two opened a can of beer each. They turned on the television, and a game show was on.

Eye Scream shrugged when Boom Bloom looked at her, a long-suffering look in her eye. She undid her ponytail, and her long locks of blue hair fell all around her. Eye Scream looked really shaggy with her hair untied, but Boom Bloom thought that the look she had going on was cool.

“I need to take a shower first. Be back soon.” And so Boom Bloom made herself as comfortable as she could on the rug, and watched TV.

The apartment smelled a lot like a cheap cleaning solution. And weed. Did Krankenstein’s friends smoke, or was all that the neighbours? She wasn’t sure. The game show on TV was strange. On the show, the contestants seemed to need to perform a bunch of different stunts, all themed around a prompt drawn out of a hat. Just as she was watching a man trying to make his way through a set of monkey bars made of balloons, Eye Scream walked out. She had blown dried her hair, and changed out of her uniform into a pair of cotton shorts and an old t-shirt. “So, what’s on?” She asked.

“‘What Can You Do?’,” answered Eye Five. 

“They’ve been playing this one a lot lately, haven’t they,” she sighed. Eye Five shrugged, and gave her a can of beer. She cracked it open, and took a sip.

“So, kid,” she said. Boom Bloom turned her attention away from the TV, and towards Eye Scream. “Penny for your thoughts. Program’s boring, and you’d been looking pensive for a while now. What’s on your mind?”

Boom Bloom glanced over to Krankenstein. Her brother who had a happy family to call his own. “Is it okay if I tell you this away from my brother?” She whispered. Eye Scream raised an eyebrow, but nodded. The two of them squeezed behind the sofa, so that the guys up front couldn’t hear them. 

“So, yeah. What’s on your mind?” She asked. 

Boom Bloom sighed. “Parents. I guess. My biological father’s getting married to a lady this winter. And like, she’s a nice enough lady as is. But… she’s still marrying my biological father! That’s like, one of the stupidest things someone could ever do.”

She nibbled her lip, wondering anxiously if Krankenstein heard any of that. Eye Scream continued to look at her attentively. Boom Bloom lowered her voice some more, just in case Krankenstein heard any of that. “And the worst part is how the rest of the family’s dealing with the upcoming marriage so well. Like, they’re all a happy family, and I’m just left behind like that. It’s just… I hate it so much. I hate feeling left out of the family like that. And most of all, I hate my Dad.”

She felt a rising sadness within her, but Boom Bloom swore to herself that she would not cry. Not in front of this stranger. This stranger who she already shared way too much about herself with. Why did she just unload it all out on her? Was she that desperate to tell someone about it? Now she felt embarrassed on top of being sad. A lump formed at her throat.

In any case, Eye Scream looked at her sympathetically. She nodded, and patted her on the shoulder. “Yeah, that’s… that’s a lot, kid. But I do get what you mean. I hated my parents a lot growing up too. It’s why I ran away with Eye Five over there.”

Boom Bloom’s brows raised. She didn’t think Krankcase was really bad enough to run away from. But hearing that, from an adult… that was interesting. “Though, even before I ran away, I found several other small ways to piss them off.”

“What did you do?” Croaked Boom Bloom. The lump in her throat was still there, but she was too curious to not ask. Eye Scream smirked, and pointed to her hair. 

“They didn’t like me experimenting with my hair much. So, when I finally saved up enough money, I bought a bottle of hair dye and gave myself a haircut. They got so mad when they got home from work that day, but it was the first time I felt any sort of power against them.” Eye Scream smiled with pride when she said that, but Boom Bloom also caught a tinge of sadness within her one eye. As if the events that happened that day still hurt to recall.

An awkward moment of silence, between two people who had shared so much with each other upon first meeting. 

And then the silence was broken when Eye Scream cleared her throat, and took another sip of beer. “Anyways, uh… how would you like to piss off your Dad?”

Boom Bloom leaned in. “What do you have in mind?”

A mischievous smile, and another sip of beer. “What do you say we dye your hair?”

Boom Bloom’s brows raised. “Right now?” She had thought a little bit about dyeing her hair in the past, but now that the option was presented right in front of her, she was curious. 

“Yeah!”

“I dunno,” she bit her lip. “I mean, it sounds like a fun idea. And I do wanna piss Krankcase off. But like… now? I guess I don’t know if I’ll like it or not.”

“Hmm…” Another sip of beer. “Tell you what? Why don’t you dye just the tips of your hair first. So if you end up not liking the end result, you can just cut off the tips.”

Boom Bloom had to admit, that did sound like a fairly decent plan. “Erm… alright. Do you have pink dye?”

“I think I do.”

“Good,” said Boom Bloom, “because I always kind of wondered what it would be like to have pink hair.”

*****

They were in the bathroom, seated on the tile floor. Eye Scream braided up Boom Bloom’s long hair, and wrapped her up in an old towel. She dipped the tips of her hair into bleach first. And while they waited for it to do its thing, they talked. After Boom Bloom unloaded her emotional baggage onto Eye Scream like that, they figured that it was best to share more light-hearted stories. Boom Bloom told her about her art projects and her owl fursona. Eye Scream shared with her stories about the band she formed in high school.

“I was the lead singer. And people thought that I was a pretty good one too, since I had a pretty powerful voice.” The timer rang. Eye Scream took her hair out of the bleach, and washed it off with some warm water. 

“That’s so cool!” Went Boom Bloom. “I wish I were musically talented.”

“Eh,” said Eye Scream, as she towel-dried the wet tips of Boom Bloom’s hair. “We’ve all got different talents. I wish I had your creativity in visual art, for example. We’re always going to wish we were better at something, so might as well be proud of what we can do and tap into those talents.”

“Mm,” Boom Bloom supposed she had to agree with that. Eye Scream did in fact find some pink hair dye she had on hand, and coloured in the bleached parts of her hair. She wrapped those tips up in tin foil, and reset the timer. 

They continued chatting during that time. This time, the conversation moved towards friendships. Boom Bloom talked about Aurora. How she’d been her best friend for all of middle school, and how she’s glad that the two of them were attending the same high school now. Eye Scream, in turn, shared her experiences with friendships. 

“We were practically a girl gang; we did everything together. And Eye Five was the boyfriend of one of them, so he hung around us a lot. And he continued to hang out with us even when they broke up. But eventually, I knew I couldn’t live in my old house happily anymore, and around that time Eye Five was making the same conclusions about his old home. So, we all got together, told the gang that we were both gonna run away. And each of them helped us out in their own way.”

“Dang,” said Boom Bloom.

“Yup,” Eye Scream nodded. “Someday, when we earn back enough money to pay them back, we’re gonna visit our hometown and track them all down again so that we can say thank you and pay our debt. They all said that payment would never be needed, but you know. Those bastards deserve it. A good chunk of that cash was their own hard-earned money they got from working.”

She continued by telling a story about how one of her friends was bullied pretty badly by this one girl. So the whole gang got together to egg her car. Boom Bloom had a good chuckle at the story, simply because the way Eye Scream told it was so amusing. Eye Scream included funny faces when mocking the mean girl, and her imitation of her once she found out they ruined her car had Boom Bloom howling.

“Aw man!”

“She totally had it coming though. You have to agree with that.” Boom Bloom did agree with that.

“The girl reminds me of this girl in my high school right now. She’s this rich girl named Dreamcatcher, and she’s pretty awful to everyone except for other people just as rich as she is.”

“Oh? What did she do?” 

“She once made fun of Aurora’s art. I said in return that her art looked like a cat threw up on it, and that Aurora’s got more talent in her finger than she did in her entire body.”

Eye Scream chuckled. “Nice.”

The timer rang. Eye Scream dragged Boom Bloom to the bathtub so that she could wash her hair with some cold water. It was freezing, but once she was done, Eye Scream dried her hair with an old towel, and then blew-dried her hair, which was a lot of fun. And by the end of it, the tips of her long hair were a bright, vibrant pink. 

“Well, what do you think?” Asked Eye Scream.

“I love it!” Boom Bloom smiled at her. 

“Yeah, I think these really suit you,” Eye Scream nodded. Boom Bloom liked what she saw, and though she was going to spend the night over at their place, she couldn’t help but feel excited to get home and see Krankcase react to the bold new change she made with her hair.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't allowed to dye my hair when I was in my country's high school equivalent. So I guess I'm making up for that by dyeing Boom Bloom's hair in this one.


End file.
